House Update #6

It's starting to look more like what we envisioned. As you can see the medieval block look has been replaced by the smooth walls and finished window and door jambs which, hopefully, will actually have windows and doors next week.


This is Luis who, besides being a very fine mason, is also our next-door-neighbor to be.

In the back, the patio is going in. Part of this patio is also a 1500 liter water cistern which is fed by the city water system. From here it will be automatically pumped to the roof where there is an 850 liter container and from there downward into the house. There is no water pressure here other than what is created by gravity and cleverly reduced diameter pipes that create all the pressure we will need. You can buy water pressure systems but they are expensive and notoriously unreliable. Anyway, Victor the architect says that 2350 liters, used wisely, should last us about 10 days in the event of loss of water......like after a hurricane.


We are having the glass blocks installed at both of the downstairs corners to enhance the curved style.














Here's how it looks from the kitchen looking into the dining room.















A shot of the tiles that are being used in the dining room and the kitchen.













A shot of the living room being tiled.

Let's go upstairs........


Here you see the guest room.










Here is Orlando...or is it Pedro...well, one of the muchachos prepping the upper deck for tiling later on.














Aforementioned tiles. The darkish brown tiles are going to be our kitchen counter and breakfast bar top. The light blue are for the upstairs bathroom walls and the light green for the downstairs bathroom walls.

Yesterday we spent 6 hours picking out toilets, sinks, bathroom accessories, faucets handles, etc. And we bought the new stove. Monday or Tuesday Indra gets to go out and choose paint colors. We are told about two week to finish this project.


Here are some final shots from today. You can tell from the sky we are in our rainy season this month and next. I really enjoy the many angles there are to photograph this structure. Enjoy!







































More later,
Larry

Yucalpeten Marina

This morning we decided to take the dogs for a different walk than our usual beach foray. About half-mile from our house is the Yucalpeten Marina, so we headed out to see what was happening.

The Yucalpeten harbor is about four miles west of Progreso and is shaped like a three leaf clover. In this harbor you will find the large local fishing fleet, fish packing companies (that export fish and octopus worldwide), the Navy base, two condo complexes and eight recreational boat marinas. The private boats you see at these marinas include powerboats and sailboats that range in size from dinghies to 70-foot yachts.





This is a major economic center for the area and the harbor was built in 1968 not only as a central point for the fishing business, but also as a safe haven for boats during a hurricane. Last year when hurricane Dean was working it's way up from the south we heard that about 400 extra boats had headed into Yucalpeten to wait it out.

The catch mainly consists of sea bass, grouper, red snapper and octopus. The octopus fishing was especially poor this year and many of the fishermen had to go on Mexico's version of unemployment. Here, that means about $300 pesos (about $30.00 U.S.) per week and in order to get it recipients have to perform civic work such as street cleaning and garbage pick-up.





Yes, we eat a lot more fish than we used to. Unfortunately, one cannot buy directly at the marina. The fish can only be sold to licensed brokers who then sell to the markets. However, we are frequently visited by an amigo on a scooter who sells us wonderful fillets for between $40 and $50 pesos a kilo (2.2 lbs) that we suspect come from the marina. That's less than $2.00 per pound U.S. and it is always flavorful and fresh.



























We continued the walk into the private marinas and came upon a sight that will please our neighbors in Chelem and Chuburna: a long awaited bridge across the harbor that will eliminate a long drive into Progreso skirting the harbor. (Click to enlarge for best effect)






The trek took about 1 hour and 10 minutes and we were all overheated by the time we returned home. This next shot is entitled "Three Heads in a Bucket":
More later,
Larry

Something Strange at the Beach

This is from loyal reader and former Expedia.com buddy Maren Williams-Melius:


Here's what my dad had to say about the sea creature. He's in Fish & Wildlife, so I figured He'd know-

It IS a crab. It doesn't look like the usual crabs these folk see because
it is from deeper in the water column as you can tell by the fact that the
body of the crab is fairly deep as opposed to rather flat near shore crabs.
This one has four walking legs per side, which is fairly common in crabs,
note that one side is missing some legs where it may have been attacked.
King crabs have three sets of walking legs.










While walking the beach yesterday, Indra spotted something unusual in the water and decided to investigate. We've seen sea turtles, manta rays, man-o-war jellyfish and other interesting specimens, but this was a first.












It looks like a crab, but not the usual blue and white numbers that our dogs like to harass and the fishermen use to catch octopus. This looked more like the creature that attached itself to people's faces in alien. After checking Indra's face, we looked at the underside and...





Hey! Little orange eggs...LOTS of them. Sort of Yucatan caviar I guess.
























Anyway, if there are any crab experts out there, let us know what we grabbed.

Larry

Carnaval Merida 2008

Listed as one of the five most important carnavals in Latin America, the Merida carnaval is five days of parades, music and food leading up to Lent.
We chose Saturday night to attend and thought that arriving 1 1/2 hours early would assure us a good viewing spot for the parade. Another lesson learned: one can't be too early for these parades. As we walked down Paseo Montejo (one of the main streets into downtown) there were spectators lined up 8 deep on one side of the street and in bleachers on the other. Indra spotted a blanket stretched along one bleacher seat with nobody sitting on it and asked the woman guarding it if there was any room for us. The woman graciously scooted the blanket down for us to squeeze in. Here's a picture of me and our new found friends...
The man in front of me was a very friendly guy and between my broken Spanish and his broken English I found out about a reportedly great grotto and cave system somewhere in Campeche. He also told me that this was the most family-friendly carnaval in Mexico. He noted that the one in Veracruz was particularly rowdy.


Isn't she cute?






Perhaps one reason we were all well behaved was the extremely large presence of Policia everywhere controlling the crowd. We never saw any drunks and there weren't any guys yelling, "Show us your naked chestal area!" Or whatever it is they yell at the women at Mardi Gras.













The parade kicked-off at 7:00 p.m. and lasted about two hours. And the floats were spectacular.....


And there were guys on stilts....

And more dancing groups of all ages than we could count......

In a few days I'll try load a film clip for you, but until then I hope these convey a little of what this was like.
Larry

Christmas Eve-Christmas Day

This is mainly for family and friends in the States who may have wondered just what one does in Mexico on the first Christmas away from family and loved ones. On the left is "Buddy's" a local watering hole and grill that is run by a Dutchman by the name of Remko. It's located right on the malecon (beach walk) in Progreso and is a place where many gringos like to congregate. We found out that on Christmas eve there was going to be a buffet festival and we went.




A great feast awaited us consisting of prime rib, turkey, and salmon as well as veggies, salad, bread and such. They also had what the chef told me was "Yucatan Hamburger" which was like meatloaf but it had pineapple and raisins in it and was quite tasty.








The decor was festive and intricate.








Us.












On Christmas day we were invited to a friend's house in Progreso along with an assortment of other gringos both full-time residents and winter visitors. Carol set up the house, and we all brought something to eat pot-luck.

At the table you can see:


(clockwise) Abigail, Ivonne, Bonnie, Indra, David, Chuck, and Carol.












We exchanged some small gifts. Here is Indra with her new back scratcher.

Welcome Into the world.......

My newest grandson, Jackson David Baker.
Born 9:58 am, December 19, 2007.
Weight - 7 lbs, 15.6 oz.


The proud parents, my youngest daughter Cheryl and her companion David.












My eldest daughter (now aunt) Mary and my other grandson in the background (now cousin) Kyle.











A handsome young fellow, isn't he? My warmest congratulations to the parents.


Larry

A New Visitor

As we were leaving to go grocery shopping today Indra noticed a peculiar shaped critter climbing through the decorative blocks onto our patio. Upon further inspection it revealed itself to be a Yucatan Vine Snake. We'd seen a much smaller one before but this character was about 5 feet long.


Thelma the coon hound, as always, thought it was a "treat" and is staring at it longingly. Anyway, we turned it loose in the vacant but verdant lot next door. Later I found this on the internet about this beautiful creature:

"The species goes by a variety of names, including Neotropical Vine Snake, Whipsnake, Bejuquilla Parda and, in local Maya, Xtachoy. Xtachoy refers to the drawstring on a well bucket. It's OXYBELIS AENEUS.
One reason people know this species is that the snake really looks like a vine stem, and Mexicans are always grabbing such stems intending to hack them with their machetes. Grab this, and you'll remember it for a long time. The snake is not particularly aggressive but if grabbed it will bite, and this species is "semi- venomous." My Maya-speaking friend Don Elías, who has a long history of machete-swinging, says that if an Xtachoy bites you you won't die or lose an arm, but you'll get a serious sore that'll take a very long time to heal.
The snake eats small lizards, especially anoles, and part of its lizard-fooling camouflage is to remain rigid for hours, often extending like a vine from one tree to another."


I probably wouldn't have been so cavalier about handling it had I read this beforehand.

Larry